reCAP :: Queens of the Stone Age :: 2014.07.16
You know those action movies where the bad guy shoots someone a billion times in the chest, but still walks over to the obvious corpse and shoots him in the head anyway? That’s the imagery I had in my head during the epic rock show Queens of the Stone Age put on before a game sold-out crowd at The Cap on Wednesday night. Josh Homme and arguably the tightest group of musicians he’s played with in the band had the sold-out crowd eating from his hand from the opener “You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar, but I Feel Like a Millionaire” off the 2002 groundbreaking Songs for the Deaf record, but in the 11th hour, just a few songs before the last song they’d play, QOTSA ripped through an ear-shattering, rip-roaring, killer extended version of “Better Living Through Chemistry” from their Rated R album. That cut in its Expendables-like climax noise glory was the pinnacle of an evening filled with more highlights than a Kardashian’s mane.
The show was monumental from the very beginning. The oft-outspoken Homme joyously criticized an audience member after the opening number for capturing it on his iPad. “An iPad….really?” He then asked him to put the device away. In other words, Homme wanted the crowd to simply enjoy the show. “It’s just us here,” he said almost giddily. From there it was put your gadgets away and get your faces melted. And the loud, in-your-face nature of arguably the hardest-working-and-rocking band working today matched with the intimacy of The Cap made for an incredible walking contradiction. There was no app for that feeling. There was no app for the head-banging that ensued from start-to-finish. There was no app for the feeling you got watching dozens of lighters going off during an acoustic cut. Lastly, there was no app to turn on to get your hearing back after the show was over. But let’s get back to the start.
Homme led his band to an evening of ferocity and shear magnetism as they integrated tracks from their entire discography. Songs off their most recent …Like Clockwork record blended in perfectly with hard-rockers off Lullabies to Paralyze. And while the songs were heavy and loud, Homme’s general demeanor all night long was playful. To paraphrase, he simply wanted to “get drunk and have fun” all night long. That feeling was unanimous with a crowd who fist-pumped, danced along, and threw up the metal horns as if it were 1985.
As stated beforehand, the evening was filled with “holy cow” moments. Homme and the crew slayed hits like “No One Knows,” “Little Sister,” and per-encore closer “Go With the Flow.” Yet, it was the deep cuts and fan favorites that seemed to resonate more. “If I Had a Tail” was sublime. “Sick, Sick, Sick” was crushed. “I Sat by the Ocean,” one of their newest singles, was poignant. “Feel Good Hit of the Summer” pounded your ears until they proverbially cried “mercy.” Speaking of which, adding a few lines from Depeche Mode’s “Never Let Me Down Again” during that pounding song was hauntingly beautiful.
Overall, the show was as good as anything The Cap has ever produced. It was a loud, bombastic ride with a band's music that has and always will take its listeners on a musical journey with surprising twists and turns.